{"id":21632,"date":"2018-11-01T15:46:45","date_gmt":"2018-11-01T10:16:45","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/?p=21632"},"modified":"2018-11-01T15:46:45","modified_gmt":"2018-11-01T10:16:45","slug":"as-statue-of-unity-is-unveiled-divisive-misinformation-against-minorities-continues-unabated","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.altnews.in\/english-clone-2026\/as-statue-of-unity-is-unveiled-divisive-misinformation-against-minorities-continues-unabated\/","title":{"rendered":"As Statue of Unity is unveiled, divisive misinformation against minorities continues unabated"},"content":{"rendered":"

In July 2018, Alt News had reported<\/a> how social media has become a playground for vested interests seeking to foment communal prejudice and hate. Disinformation has been weaponized to create a fear psychosis, portraying the majority community as under threat from minority aggression. The seeds of division sown in the minds of the people through effective use of social media platforms continues unabated. Purveyors of disinformation are constantly improvising, devising new tactics to create suspicion and fear. Here is a chronicle of several such instances of disinformation on social media and beyond.<\/p>\n

1. Rumour of ‘Imtiaz Ali’ as driver of train in Amritsar tragedy<\/strong><\/h3>\n

In October 2018, more than 60 people lost their lives in a tragic accident where an Amritsar-bound train mowed down Dusshera revellers watching the burning of Ravan effigy from railway tracks. Soon after, viral claims<\/a> on social media began to suggest that the name of the driver was Imtiaz Ali.<\/p>\n